Analysis of In-Plane Compression and Bending of Honeycombs With Laminated Cell Walls

Using laminated composite cell walls in honeycomb structures can bring potential advantages such as increased specific stiffness, greater options for material selection, and very importantly, improved manufacturing efficiency. In this paper, the in-plane elastic responses of honeycomb structures with laminated composite cell wall are investigated. An analytical model was developed to obtain the effective elastic properties of the honeycombs based on the laminate properties of the cell wall. The derived homogenization properties were then used to predict the in-plane compression and bending behaviors of the structures. The predicted results were compared with those from finite element analysis of the full detailed honeycomb models. The results of the homogenized solid model, with significant computational cost savings, were in good agreement with those of honeycomb models with full geometric details. It was also demonstrated that the proposed model can be effectively and efficiently used for composite cell wall design and material selection.